AUSTIN – Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo said Monday that players have to be accountable for what appears on the Internet in the wake of last week’s dismissal of offensive lineman Buck Burnette, who posted a racial slur on a popular social network.

“Our main thing is to stay low-key and not put your business on the Internet where everybody can see,” said Orakpo, who is one of the first UT players to comment publicly on the situation. “We just have to make better decisions.”

Burnette was kicked off the team after posting a racial slur on his Facebook page. After Barack Obama was elected president, Burnette wrote on his status that “All the hunters gather up, we have a (slur) in the White House.”

Orakpo said the UT coaching staff did a good job handling the situation, which could have divided the locker room.

“I thought it was handled appropriately,” Orakpo said. “My prayers are with (Burnette) but we have to move on.”

Texas coach Mack Brown said he told his players to be cautious with the Internet.

“I told them to be really careful with Facebook and MySpace,” Brown said. “Those things are really dangerous. “

Brown said he could not take away players using the social networks because it’s a “public right they have as students.”

“We told them we would rather they not have them,” said Brown, “and obviously not put anything on there their mom wouldn’t want to see.”

Burnette wrote a letter to the team apologizing for the incident and said “he did not want to be a distraction,” according to quarterback Colt McCoy.

“I did not for a second think that it was going to be a distraction,” McCoy said. “Buck was extremely sincere. Everybody knows Buck. We’re all so close. It’s been tough for everybody across the board.”